Gladiolus
Gladiolus, a perennial garden flower related to the iris. Gladioli are native chiefly to South Africa, but some originated in Asia and Europe. There are more than 240 species, from which commercial growers have developed thousands of varieties. Gladioli are popular as cut flowers because they last well.
The gladiolus grows from three to five feet (90 to 150 cm) tall. The long, slender leaves are sword-shaped. (The plant's name comes from the Latin for “sword.”) Irregular flowers, which grow in a wide variety of colors, form a spikelike cluster at the top of the stem. The fruit is a many-seeded capsule. Gladioli are started from bulblike corms.
The gladiolus belongs to the genus Gladiolus of the iris family, Iridaceae.